CAMBODIA - ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា/Royaume du Cambodge

Cambodia  also Kampucheaofficially the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand. Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 650 feet (200 metres) above sea level.

Cambodia's biodiversity is largely founded on its seasonal tropical forests, containing some 180 recorded tree species, and riparian ecosystems. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species, 850 freshwater fish species (Tonle Sap Lake area), and 435 marine fish species recorded by science. Much of this biodiversity is contained around the Tonle Sap Lake and the surrounding biosphere.

Cambodia used the postage stamps of Indochina until the early 1950s. In 1949 Cambodia became an associated state of the French Union but gained independence in 1953 and left the Union in 1955. The first stamps were issued in 1951 for the kingdom of Cambodia, Royaume du Cambodge, as a self-governing state within the French Union. One of the stamps depicted King Norodom Sihanouk. Cambodia gained independence on 9 November 1953. The Khmer Republic was declared on 9 October 1970. Stamps inscribed Republique Khmere were issued from 1971 to 1975. The National United Front of Kampuchea took over Cambodia in 1975 and established Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime allowed no civilian private communication and so abolished the postal system. Service resumed in early 1979 when the Vietnam People's Army drove the Khmer Rouge out of the capital Phnom Penh. April 1980 saw the first set of postage stamps issued after the establishment of the People's Republic of Kampuchea. In 1989, the name of "People's Republic of Kampuchea" was changed to the State of Cambodia. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission from 1992–93. In 1993, the Kingdom of Cambodia was restored as a constitutional monarchy.

Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea(Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា). The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa (कम्बोजदेश), composed of देश, desa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज, Kambujas, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Cambodia, a rare country for philatelists, especially for cover collectors. These two covers sent by my good friend Nou Chan from Capital city, Pnom Penh. The covers posted on June 20, 2016 and I received on June 30, 2016.